Abara

Description

From Viz:
A vast city lies under the shadow of colossal, ancient tombs, the identity of their builders lost to time. In the streets of the city something is preying on the inhabitants, something that moves faster than the human eye can see and leaves unimaginable horror in its wake. Tsutomu Nihei’s dazzling, harrowing dystopian thriller is presented here in a single-volume hardcover edition featuring full-color pages and foldout illustrations.

Includes the one-shot Digimortal.

Note: Nominated for the Eisner Award for Best U.S. Edition of International Material Asia in 2019.

Type

Manga

Related Series

N/A

Associated Names

ABAЯA

Digimortal

Ribs

Абара

アバラ

아 바라

Groups Scanlating

...

Hanaji-scans

Illuminati-Manga

Latest Release(s)

v.2 c.7-11 + Digimortal Parts 1-2 by Illuminati-Manga 18 years ago

v.1 c.1-6 by Illuminati-Manga 18 years ago

c.8 by Hanaji-scans 18 years ago

Search for all releases of this series

Status in Country of Origin

2 Volumes (Tankōbon - Complete)
1 Volume (Shinsōban - Complete)

Completely Scanlated?

Yes

Anime Start/End Chapter

N/A

User Reviews

N/A

Forum

0 topics, 0 posts

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User Rating

Average: 6.8 / 10.0 (503 votes)

Bayesian Average: 6.77 / 10.0

18%

25%

22%

Last Updated

August 14th, 2025 9:27am PDT - 4 days ago

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Genre

Action Drama Horror Mature Mystery Psychological Sci-fi Seinen Tragedy
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Categories

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Category Recommendations

Uramachi Sakaba

Tetsuo - The Bullet Man

Recommendations

Author(s)

Artist(s)

Year

Original Publisher

Kodansha (2015)

Shueisha (2004)

Serialized In (magazine)

Ultra Jump (Shueisha)

Licensed (in English)

Yes

English Publisher

Viz (1 Deluxe Edition Volume; Complete)

Activity Stats (vs. other series)

Weekly Pos #752

(-55)

Monthly Pos #1899

(+7)

3 Month Pos #2733

(-555)

6 Month Pos #3350

(-1216)

Year Pos #4802

(-40)

List Stats

On 355 reading lists

On 547 wish lists

On 1315 completed lists

On 53 unfinished lists

On 199 custom lists

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Forum Posts Click to view the forum

User Comments [ Order by time added ]

best yet

by caveman
17 years ago

Rating: N/A

I have to say I was surprised to find so many people disliked this, both the story and the art. Seeing as it is without a doubt the best comic or manga I’ve ever read (forgive me, perhaps I just haven’t read enough) I felt I ought to defend it. Clearly it is not for everyone. But it is a far cry to say the man is a bad artist – I don’t hesitate to put him up there with other illustrators such as Gustav Dore, because I think he did an incredible job in creating an atmosphere.

The plot is intangible, true, but I found this left more room for imagination than the common easy access harlot of a storyline. And it’s short enough that it doesn’t matter if you’ve seen this theme before, subtle enough to leave you guessing, strange enough to catch your attention and just when you think you will never get close to the characters something heart warming or tragic crops up. So perhaps for those who don’t want to be spoon fed, this is definitely a story worth reading.

Finally, the art is not designed to look entirely realistic (if that’s what you’re looking for go watch a movie, it’s not the point of comics) – nor is it your stereotypical bug-eyed nonexistent nosed carp. I’m so unbelievably happy to FINALLY find a mangaka that is not afraid to draw people with noses! There is also none of the over the top expressions stuff – the faces are calm more often than not, and then suddenly so full of expression it’s terrifying. I find this far more real, far more interesting. He has an individual and interesting style, and the architecture is undeniably good.

... Last updated 17 years ago

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Marvelously mind blowing (:

by jazzybaby
14 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

Perhaps my opinion of 'Abara' was already biased before I even began reading it due to the fact that I was already in love with Tsutomu's talent thanks to 'Blame!'... But I have to say, 'Abara' by itself is still absolutey amazing. I honesty like it as much as 'Blame!' and a lot more than his other work 'Biomega'.

Some may say that his storytelling is lacking but I actually enjoy the fact that it's not all there shoved in your face.. The story is still there but it's just more subtle and you just have to pay closer attention to the actions and use your imagination a bit. His style of telling the story feels more like you're just an onlooker at something already happening and you get the gist of it by the dialogue and actions rather than it seeming like someone's performing for you and some invisible narrator explains the whole darn plot...

I think out of all of his mangas, the fact that 'Abara' was so short seemed to make Tsutomu Nihei concentrate on making it more concrete than his other longer works and there was more of a balance between the action and actual progression of the events in the story. All in all, I love this manga for it's amazing art and unique storytelling. <3

If you didn't understand it, you should really consider reading it again more patiently and you'll most likely appreciate and comprehend it better. But if you didn't like it, maybe you're just better off reading some cliche manga. P:

... Last updated 14 years ago

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Uneven

by Jhono1
16 years ago

Rating: 7.0 / 10.0

Very dark, very moody and stylish and little to no dialogue at all. It's extremely hard to follow the plot and takes away a lot from this manga, the but the art is shockingly good.

5 for the story, 9 for the art really.

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whee

by yFANTgirl
18 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

realy great art, plot's a bit confusing o_>

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Divided

by nail80
14 years ago

Rating: 6.0 / 10.0

On one hand this series has amazing artwork, it's just breathtakingly awesome, but the story didn't impress me one bit. At times it was extremely confusing and that is supposed to be the center of the manga, if you don't understand exactly what the hell is going on then how are you supposed to enjoy the story and the characters?
If this was just an artbook then i would surely rate it higher.

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Seriously, people...

by albeitalways
17 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

Abara is a good example of what a seinen is like. Mystery, action, intrigue and whatnot, the main focus of this series is the actions and the events of the plot, not what happens at the fate of the characters. Sure, the gist of the story is nothing new--it sort of resembles Variante, Elfen Lied and others, but it has its own twisted quirks as well.

And for god's sake, WHO ARE YOU TO SAY NIHEI'S ARTWORK IS CRAP!?

I dare all of you to even duplicate a single action scene with all the details in ink and pen without the help of Adobe and see if it resembles his even in resemblance at least.

The main problem, lies in part with Nihei's storytelling ability in paper. Not in how he draws.
Honestly, understanding the action scenes of the manga isn't that hard to do if you really take a good look and immerse yourself in the story.

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wow good

by mystichead
16 years ago

Rating: N/A

this is the only manga ive ever read where i couldnt get what in the world was happening....most probably cuz the art.....(not that its bad but i'am not quite used to this style, thus cant make out patterns").....and.......

Despite all that I LOVED IT........... HOLY SHIT How did that happen?

... Last updated 16 years ago

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the art.. o.O

by paradoX
18 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

amazing art, do yourself a favor and read this. now if I will ever want to read this to the end, I will probably have to either learn kanji or volunteer for a Hanaji-scans cleaner. this gets 10 from me. for concept and art. story so far isn't exactly mind blowing. ;D hope it gets a bit better, or at least clearer

... Last updated 18 years ago

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It's fine I guess.

by Clo_wn47
3 years ago

Rating: 8.8 / 10.0

N/A

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Abara

by [deleted member]
5 years ago

Rating: 7.0 / 10.0

Story: 7/10
Art: 9/10
Characters: 6/10
Quality Polish Edition: 8/10
Enjoyment: 7/10
Overall: 7.4/10

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